A non-commercial guide to organic gardening in the mid-Atlantic states, with some specifics to central Virginia..and some information applicable across the country! Or to other time zones! Across the seas! Who knew?
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson

Central Virginia Organic Gardener

"And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes." - William Wordsworth, 1798

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Huff and Puff? What's THAT in my Grass? Not the Dog Again!

I have found these brown things in my lawn and flower beds from time to time (no, they are not doggie doo). These particular specimens are from a neighbor's yard. I am pretty certain these are members of the fungus family and are mature puffballs. Puffballs are an aptly named fungus. They are often first noticed when they are an above-ground, roundish ball which, as they mature, often darken and open up, emitting "puffs" of spores by the thousands. If you have ever picked one of these up, you have probably noticed the powdery spores all over your hands and puffing up into the air. These spores can cause allergic reactions if inhaled.
What to do about them? There are complex and costly anti-fungal treatments for your lawns, but for puffballs, I just dig 'em up while wearing gloves and gently place them into a plastic bag for disposal. They have a very tenuous attachment to the soil. The condition that encourages the growth of these interesting non-plant plants (these ancient organisms are genetically closer to animals than plants) is an overly damp lawn (which invites other, more nasty fungal diseases anyway). So, if you must have a lawn, water in the early morning, so the grass has a chance to dry: never water at night. Do not overfeed your lawn- rapid growth is more vulnerable to fungi. Walk your lawn in early spring and remove any newly forming puffballs. It is likely you will not have major problems with them in the future.
Happy gardening!

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Garden Quotes

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Cicero

"The only thing two gardeners agree on is that the third is wrong." Mike McGrath

" If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.” Audra Foveo

"The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies" G. Jekyll

"What I like about gardening is that it makes a mockery of intentions" Mirabel Osler

"The best place to find God is in the garden. You can dig for him there." George Bernard Shaw

"A familiar irony of horticulture is that gardeners desire plants that are the most difficult to obtain." Judith Sumner, 2004

"A traveller should be a botanist, for in all views plants form the chief embellishment." Ch. Darwin, 1839

"How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existance" Benjamin Disraeli, 1845

"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O'Keeffe

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), 5th Century B.C.E.

"Whatsoever whether great or small ugly or handsom sweet or stinking... everything in the universe appears beautifull to mee." John Bartram, 1740

"In my examination of orchids, hardly any fact has so much struck me as the endless diversity of structure for gaining the very same end, namely, the fertilization of one flower by the pollen of another." Charles Darwin

"Who has ever dreamed of finding an utilitarian purpose in the forms and colours of flowers?" Thomas Huxley

"When I observe the fate of Botanists, upon my word I doubt whether to call them sane or mad in their devotion to plants" Linnaeus 1737

About Me

I am a 50-something mother of one involved in all sorts of pursuits, from gardening to crafting to botanical illustration and I teach part time at a local University. I believe in organic as a method and way of life and making and growing things as a way to keep me happy!